Mixed media artist Sonia Alins makes paper cut illustrations that look and feel as though they are submerged in water. Focused mainly on the human body (specifically the female body), she explores the expressiveness of elements such as transparency and blur.
In a paper cut illustration series, titled “Into the Water”, cartoon-like women are seen floating about in the water. Using watercolored paper for the backdrop, her characters are drawn with ink, and then cut and placed on a semitransparent paper that looks like water. She sometimes adds wool underneath that adds texture and depth to the finished product.
“I would define myself as empathic and sensitive,” said Alins in an interview with Our Culture Magazine, speaking about her sources of inspiration. “Almost anything (a personal experience, an impression, a landscape) is likely to become part of my artworks. My family and my dreams are a great source of inspiration too: some days I wake up with a good repertoire of ideas from my dreams. Sometimes I think my mind keeps working even when I’m asleep.”
Indeed, her works look as though set in a dreamy landscape. “When I start working on a piece, I have a very clear idea about what I want to get,” she says. “When I finally see that idea reflected in the artwork, I know I have finished it. Sometimes It’s a hard process and I need to repeat the artwork more than once until I achieve my objective.”
Take a look at some of our favorite pieces by her:
